Kerry says no role for Assad in new Syria government

US Secretary of State John Kerry has ruled out a future role for Bashar al-Assad in a Syrian transitional government, dpa reported.

"This government cannot be formed with someone who objected by one side or the other and that means Bashar al-Assad will not be part of [a] transition government," Kerry said at the start of peace talks in Switzerland.

"There is no way possible in imagination that a man who has led a brutal response on his own people can regain that legitimacy to govern," Kerry added.